Murray wins giant game of Whack the Mole

My OH and I have just finished watching the recording as we had to watch in bits. I thought it was a great match but was not surprised at Federer's behaviour. It was coming as he is such a bad loser. I do not think Andy looked very tired even though he is quoted as saying so. Perhaps he is playing mind games at last. I feel it is 50/50 tomorrow although Andy seems to have already broken one record by getting to a final after winning his first slam. None of the commies have mentioned but I think I read it here somewhere. If weird things do happen Andy should win as everything the women have done has been the opposite on the men's side. Straight sets for Andy and Maria. Maria goes out in the SF but Andy goes through. Li Na has had straight set wins but loses. I might be wishful thinking.

It was on the first point of the 6-5 game in set 4. Federer was referring to his approach shot, which caught the baseline. He was accusing Murray of delaying - as if he thinks the ball is out - and then hitting his return. If you watch closely, there is a tiny moment's hesitation.

Because it was said in the heat of the moment, I am ready to cut Federer some slack. Can't say our Andy won't find himself in this sort of situation some day (God forbid). Fate can be cruel so I want to be kind when I can afford it!

Andy is a kind person naturally but I think he was getting fed up with Smugfeds put downs. When he smiled he must have thought to himself well I am going to win and the half smile/smirk was the result. No harm in that and lets face it Smugfed got all he deserved.

Roger Federer flashes temper in loss to Andy Murray at Australian Open

Roger Federer lost his cool a few times in Friday’s match. (Daniel Munoz/Reuters)

Roger Federer wasn’t his usual cool self during a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 loss to Andy Murray in the Australian Open semifinals on Friday.

As The New York Times reported, the television microphones picked up expletives from the 17-time major champion on multiple occasions.

[T]he BBC was compelled on Friday to apologize for Federer’s “bad language.”

Federer’s first clearly audible obscenity in his semifinal loss to Andy Murray came with Murray serving at 4-5, 15-30. Murray fired a body serve which Federer could just get his backhand in front of and sent him into mostly indistinguishable muttering, punctuated with a loud, hard expletive in the middle.

Federer’s second audible offense came with Murray serving at 3-4, 40-40, in the fourth set. Murray won a 17-shot rally, and Federer exclaimed that his opponent had been “lucky,” preceding that word with a choice adverb.

Popping off at the back of the court is one thing, but directing comments at your opponent is another. With Murray serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth set, here’s how The Times described the first point of that game:

Murray prevailed in 15-stroke rally with a forehand winner, with both players finishing the point near the net. But Federer, on the brink of defeat, appeared to have taken issue with a slight mid-rally [hesitation] by Murray, and shouted “you [expletive]-ing stopped!” across the net. Murray appeared at first surprised, then amused, twisting his face into an exaggeratedly satisfied smirk, laughing and nodding toward his player’s box.

Here’s video of the point in question. Murray downplayed the incident after the match and refused to repeat what Federer said to him.

“I wasn’t that surprised,” Murray said. “Stuff like that happens daily in tennis matches. … It was very, very mild in comparison to what happens in other sports.”

Murray added that there were no hard feelings, saying, “People will want to make a big deal of it, and it isn’t really a big deal.”

Federer also downplayed the incident.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “We just looked at each other one time. That’s OK, I think, in a three-and-a-half-hour match. We were just checking each other out for [a] bit. No, I mean, that wasn’t a big deal for me. I hope not for him.”

Murray went on to lose the game and the set in a tiebreaker, but he dismissed the idea that Federer’s outburst had anything to do with it.

“I think it didn’t rattle me,” Murray said. “I think he raised his game, and that’s what happens. Sometimes guys need to get emotion into the match.”

Federer’s fire was short-lived. Murray broke early in the fifth set and won it in 30 minutes.

Federer, of course, was a hot-tempered player when he was younger, and he’s been known to have an outburst every once in a while....

It was on the first point of the 6-5 game in set 4. Federer was referring to his approach shot, which caught the baseline. He was accusing Murray of delaying - as if he thinks the ball is out - and then hitting his return. If you watch closely, there is a tiny moment's hesitation.

But Murray's entitled to do that. I don't see Smugfed's problem.

It's on here at 58:30:

Pay attention! I already reported this on the Federer match thread. Some journo worked it out, apparently.

It was on the first point of the 6-5 game in set 4. Federer was referring to his approach shot, which caught the baseline. He was accusing Murray of delaying - as if he thinks the ball is out - and then hitting his return. If you watch closely, there is a tiny moment's hesitation.

But Murray's entitled to do that. I don't see Smugfed's problem.

That seems to be the general consensus - Andy paused for a nanosecond and Fed got annoyed! I suppose it's a story because a) it's Fed, and b) it's swearing directed at the other player. I just think it's quite funny.

There is some irony in the Smuggate incident really, in the sense that comms used to go on about Andy showing negativity to opponents, but look at what he was able to reduce Federer to.

Andy lost the fourth set, but I think psychologically he got a boost in the match from knowing Federer was on the ropes and rattled to the point where his mask slipped. The look Andy gave Federer after the outburst was a great response.